Then & Now: Hamilton's downtown theater has led many lives

HAMILTON >> The Hamilton Movie Theater has been a fixture in downtown Hamilton for over 100 years, changing owners, hands and media every few decades in order to keep up with entertainment trends.

According to the theater General Manager Chuck Fox, the building that currently houses the triplex was built in 1895 after a large fire swept most of the downtown architecture of the village off the map. Before the fire, it was the home of Trip's Opera House. Afterward, it was purchased by a businessman from Madison, who converted it into a grocery/theater called Sheldon Opera House. Originally, opera goers would have to enter through the side and skirt around the grocery store in order to gain entrance to the theater.

In 1918, Sheldon's had its first film showing with the 1915 classic "Birth of a Nation." Sheldon sold the theater to a movie chain called Smallies in 1924. It was operated under that name from 1924 to 1935, when silent films went out and talkies were brought to American audiences.

Advertisement

In 1935, it passed hands again to Shine theaters, another northeast chain that ran theaters in Norwhich and other upstate locations.

The theater remained with Shine until the 1960s, when it passed through several owners. Fox said that it fell into ill-repute with the community after a theater company named Panther took it over and began showing X-rated films, a common practice for the struggling cinemas of that time.

"After receiving several complaints from citizens, Mayor Robert Kuiper brought complaints to the manager, who told Kuiper if he wanted things to change, he should just buy the theater," Fox said. "He did just that."

After Kuiper, the theater was purchased by an absentee owner, who converted the theater into a triplex in the 1990s, removing the one-film limitation that may have contributed to the theater's hard times throughout those years.

In a mass revitalization of the downtown area, Colgate University purchased the theater and many other buildings after moving some of its offices and the bookstore in 2001. The theater has operated under the name, "Hamilton Theater," since then.

In 2006, the all-male Colgate Class of 1956 donated the theater's current marquee sign, which pays homage to the original Shine marquee shown in the 1935 picture above.

Fox said that the theater tries to remain a centerpiece of the community by hosting not only college favorite films, but family nights, indie movie nights, pay-what-you-want nights and outdoor movies. In the past, especially around major conflicts, the theater served as a center for blood drives, war drives and other community events.

"We have tried to maintian some of the traditions that put this theater on the map," Fox said.